Friday, 22 April 2011

Conclusion, conclusion, conclusion

You know when I was doing my exams they told me that for the English essays, come hell or high water, the conclusion had to be proper. That was the one essential component to getting a good grade. So the Pope has released a new prayer for the Jews - sadly only for the Extraordinary Form. I reserve all opinions to myself about it except this one. Which imbecile underling didn't check the rubrics?

All the Good Friday prayers end with what is known as the "long conclusion" - Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat, in unitate Spiritu Sancte, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum - Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, unto all ages, world without end. Some "Per eundem Dominum..." - I hope you'll remember that post about the bishop who wrote to Rome over eundem (or in his case eumdem)

Back in the 'good old days' of reform (*cough) , the revisers decided to eliminate this long conclusion which has been attached to all the Collects, Secrets and Postcommunions due to Gallican influence and return to the simple Roman ending "Per Christum Dominum nostrum" - Through Christ our Lord - for the retitled Super oblata, the Postcommunion and many of the prayers, blessings and certain collects (like Good Friday) And looking at the new prayers for the Jews, what do my eyes behold but "Per Christum Dominum nostrum" instead of the long ending.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! Hope they correct this one! Unless maybe the Holy Father is hinting that he is going to change the OF prayer. Hmmmmmm.........

Casting my mind back I was just thinking about the changes to this oration on Good Friday. Incremental is the word I'm looking for. In 1948, it was allowed to translate "perfidi" with a little more leeway. This lead to a good many hand missals switching from "perfidious" to "unbelieving" or similar. This was re-enforced when Pius XII quite firmly explained its meaning later. Then in 1956, the words "Oremus. Flectamus Genua. Levate" was added in the new order of Holy Week and everyone knelt before the prayer for the Jews. In 1959, in a letter to the Cardinal Vicar of Rome, later communicated to the world's bishops, John XXIII excised "perfidi" from the prayer. In 1965, the prayer was retitled, the introduction was changed and the prayer itself was the one that would later be used in the 1970 Missal. As follows:

I think that this is really disappointing but very typical of the treatment that the Traditional Liturgy can expect at the hands of the Novus Ordo establishment. We are going to see more and more of this.

Qui Pro Vobis

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Venerable Father John Sullivan SJ

Born: 8 May 1861, Received into the Catholic Church: 21 December 1896, Received into the Sodality of Our Lady: 22 December 1896, Entered Society of Jesus: 7 September 1900, Ordained Priest: 28 July 1900, Died 19 February 1933.